CreatureData

Small hive beetle

Aethina tumida Murray, 1867

Status not recordedbeetles

The small hive beetle (Aethina tumida) is a species in the family Nitidulidae, order Coleoptera.

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Quick facts about the small hive beetle

Weight
Not recorded
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
Not recorded
Young per litter or clutch
Not recorded
Conservation status
Not recorded
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the small hive beetle live?

Not recorded

Where has it been introduced?

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the small hive beetle as introduced in 5 countries, and flagged as invasive in 2 of them.

  1. Camerooninvasive
  2. Italyinvasive
  3. Denmark
  4. Egypt
  5. United States

Introduced means brought by people and now present; invasive means the country's checklist records an impact. A species can be native to one part of a country and introduced in another. Source: Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (CC BY 4.0).

Is the small hive beetle endangered?

No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.

How is the small hive beetle classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumArthropoda
  3. classInsecta
  4. orderColeoptera
  5. familyNitidulidae
  6. genusAethina
  7. SpeciesAethina tumida Murray, 1867
Other names and names in other languages (4)
  • Petit coléoptère des ruchesFrench
  • 벌집꼬마밑빠진벌레Korean
  • Kleine bijenkastkeverDutch
  • De kleine bijenkastkeverDutch

Catalogue of Life

Relatives of the small hive beetle

Other species in the same genus Aethina.

CompareSmall hive beetle vs Hibiscus beetleSmall hive beetle vs Aethina argusSmall hive beetle vs Aethina concinnaSmall hive beetle vs Aethina cyaneipennis

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

Is the small hive beetle an invasive species?

In some places. The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species flags the small hive beetle as invasive in 2 countries: Cameroon and Italy. It lists it as introduced in 5 in all.

What kind of animal is the small hive beetle?

The small hive beetle (Aethina tumida) belongs to the family Nitidulidae in the order Coleoptera.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-14. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Small hive beetle (Aethina tumida). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/small-hive-beetle

MLA

“Small hive beetle (Aethina tumida).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/small-hive-beetle.

BibTeX
@misc{small_hive_beetle_2026,
  title = {Small hive beetle (Aethina tumida)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/small-hive-beetle},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-14}
}